Each Hidden Village breaks their ninja rankings into different levels of skill. This classification then helps determine what ninja level is needed to complete the mission. Higher difficulty missions require the utilization of higher skilled ninjas. These levels include Ninja Academy Student, Genin, Chuunin and Jounin. The Kage sits at the highest of the Five Great Shinobi Countries as the village leader.

Within these rankings, a ninja may join a particular group which uses their skills in special ways. These specialized squads can focus on one field of work such as the hunting of ninjas who have gone missing and left their hidden village, or medical-nins who act as doctors.

The ANBU, meaning "dark side" is actually short for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (literally Assassination Tactics Special Military Force). The ANBU work directly under the leadership of the Hokage. This specialized ninja battalion generally work in groups of four to five. They are responsible for assassinations and missions requiring highly trained ninjas. The masks the members wear are based around the signs of the zodiac.

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Both Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi became ANBU at a young age. Itachi himself was said to have become an ANBU captain by age 13.

The ANBU Ne, meaning Root, is a subfaction of the ANBU operated by elder ninja Danzou. Danzou operated in opposition to Sarutobi the Sandaime Hokage. Danzou was once up for the position of Sandaime Hokage but was turned down because of his hawkish militaristic stance. While the normal ANBU operates under the direct leadership of the Hokage, the Root faction operated from out of view "below the ground" to support the great tree that was Konoha. Members of Root were to only focus on the mission at hand, leaving their emotions, past, future and very name behind. Once Sarutobi gained enough control over Konoha, he ordered Root disbanded. Danzou carried on it secret however, seeking to help Konoha from the shadows.

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Danzou made one of his most bold and blatant moves as Root leader by ordering his soldier Sai to accompany Naruto, Yamato and Sakura on their journey to meet Sasori's spy. Sai would carry out his orders without the others being aware.

Chuunin are made up of Genin who have passed the Chuunin exam by exhibiting leadership and excellent combat sense. Genin can either win or lose the last Chuunin Exam test. If they show sufficient qualities becoming of a Chuunin, they can be appointed and officially become Chuunin. Chuunin have the equivalent rank of military captain, exhibiting strong stamina, knowledge and inner wisdom.

Every six months one of the allied countries in the Five Great Shinobi countries will manage the exam; the goal of which is to determine which Genin are worthy of being promoted to the rank of Chuunin.

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The first Chuunin Exam the audience views in Naruto is interrupted by the invasion of Konoha. During the time skip in the series, all the Genin except for Sasuke and Naruto advanced in rank by participating in Chuunin Exams. When we are reintroduced to the characters in the second part of the series, we learn that Shikamaru and Temari are both making preparations to hold a new Chuunin Exam.

At the lowest level are new graduates from the Ninja Academy known as Genin. Genin will be assigned a Jounin sensei, who will monitor their progress and help push for mission assignments benefiting their skill level. Should the Genin not impress the Jounin sensei, they can be sent back to the Ninja Academy for further training. Once the Genin has successfully undertaken eight missions, they can be sponsored by their Jounin sensei for the Chuunin Exam.

This administrative group is responsible for the selection and approval of new Chuunin, Jounin and Kage for each Hidden Village.

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Hidden Leafs administrative group was responsible for the selection of the new Fifth Hokage. Their first choice was the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya, he declined but he offered to find the other Sannin Tsunade to ask if she would take the position. After finding Tsunade, she eventually agreed to take on this duty and the Council appointed her as the Fifth Hokage.

In Hidden Sand the Council was responsible for choosing a new Kazekage after the previous ones fell in battle. After Sandaime Kazekage disappeared under mysterious circumstances, the Council was slow in picking a new leader, much to the village's detriment. For that reason they made moves to quickly find a new Kage after Godaime Kazekage fell in battle.

These shinobi hunters search for ninja who have abandoned their village. Nicknamed the "Undertaker Squad" they have a high knowledge in physiology to further their killing abilities. Once they kill their target, they will dispose of the body without a trace. This is because a ninja's body has within it secrets of the village's ninjutsu, chakra types, herbs and other information about the village. They will then take the head back to the Hidden Village as proof of their kill.

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Haku wore the mask of a Hidden Mist Hunter-Nin who he presumably killed. Though it is not officially stated, Haku did have a similar high level of skill a real Hunter-Nin would possess.

After Chuunin come Jounin, these highly skilled ninjas normally serve as squad leaders on mission assignments. Some Jounins are also assigned Genin level ninja to function as three man cells. The Jounin will monitor their progress and submit requests for the Genin to take the Chuunin Exam when the Jounin feels they are ready. Ninja attain the rank of Jounin through official appointment.

The Kage (Shadow) represents the head of each Hidden Village. Only the Five Great Shinobi Countries are allowed to call their head ninja by the Kage name. The Kage serves as the pillar upon which the village stands and the strength a village presents to the other ninja countries largely depends upon the strength of the Kage in power. When one Hokage decides to step down from the position, a new Kage is nominated and then approved by the Village Council. In an interesting turn of events, Konoha's Third Hokage retook his position as Kage when the Fourth Hokage fell in battle to the Kyuubi demon fox.

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The Konoha Kage position was recently filled by the Fifth Hokage Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin of Konoha. After the assassination of the Yondaime Kazekage by Orochimaru, Gaara was selected by his village advisory council to be Fifth Kazekage.

There exists a level of ninja who are of Kage level, but who are not presently a village Kage. This may be because of personal preference or the onset of aging. The three highly skilled Hidden Leaf ninja known as the Legendary "Sannin," or Legendary "Three Ninja" are such ninja. The members of Akatsuki are also generally at this level as well. Legendary Sand puppet master kunoichi Chiyo of Hidden Sand could be considered near this level. Ninja of this level usually leave their villages behind to seek their own ambitions.

Originally founded by the ancestors of the Uchiha clan, the Konoha Military Police Corps are responsible for maintaining city peace and law enforcement.

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The First Subdivision of the Corps once contained many members of the Uchiha clan. Uchiha Sasuke himself one day dreamed of joining his father in the Police Corps, but after his clan was wiped out, his goal in life changed to finding and killing his brother Itachi.

Medical-Nins

Base of Operations: Hidden VillageClassification: Specialized Ninja SquadMember Appearances: Tsunade, Shizune, Unnamed members can be see in the Third Chuunin Exam preliminary and main matchesSee also: Hyuuga Hinata, Tsunade, Shizune

These specialized ninja are responsible for the health and well being of ninja injured in battle. Specially trained medical ninja such as Inuzuka Hana can also help the skilled animals which fight for the villages also.

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After Hyuuga Hinata's match against Hyuuga Neji in the Chuunin Exam, she was attended to by Medical-Nins. Tsunade is highly skilled in the medical arts and looked over the care and surgery of several Leaf ninjas after they were severely injured in battle. In the past Tsunade has pushed for Medical-nins to be placed on each mission, to reduce the amount of fatalities in battle. Once she became Hokage she made moves to begin this process.

Each ninja in a Hidden Village starts at the Ninja Academy where they are taught basic jutsu techniques. Once they show the sufficient level of skill and knowledge they graduate and become Genin level ninja. The student can take the graduation test multiple times. Naruto himself took the test several times before finally passing.

These ninjas have taken on a teaching role as instructors for the Hidden Village's Ninja Academy. Their primary goal is to teach the academy students the basic jutsu techniques such as Transformation (Henge) and Clone (Bunshin). These teachers do remain active ninjas though and will take on missions for the Hidden Village as needed.

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The Ninja Academy teachers remain active ninjas, after the invasion of Konoha by Sand and Sound, many Leaf ninjas died forcing Iruka and the other Academy teachers to go on missions for the village.

Special Jounin are ninjas who have gained high Jounin-level skills in one area of ninja arts. These are ninja like Morino Ibiki, who is highly skilled at interrogation and torture. Ninja attain the rank of Special Jounin through official appointment.